


What Could Have Been, What Will Be

by uh_oh_my_lasagna



Category: the untamed, 魔道祖师 - 墨香铜臭 | Módào Zǔshī - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù
Genre: Angst, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:29:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/uh_oh_my_lasagna/pseuds/uh_oh_my_lasagna
Summary: Just a drabble
Relationships: Jīn Líng | Jīn Rúlán/Lán Yuàn | Lán Sīzhuī
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	What Could Have Been, What Will Be

Jin Ling sighs ruefully, trailing a hand down Sizhui’s sharp jaw.

“We could have been so... Happy, together,” he muses.

But unexpectedly, Sizhui grabs the hand touching his face tightly with a determined, unrelenting gaze. It surprises Jin Ling so suddenly that he lets out a small, astonished gasp.

“We still can.” He squeezes his hand firmer. “A-Ling, run away with me.”

Jin Ling freezes in disbelief. “Wh... what?” He lets out a startled, vulnerable laugh. “Sizhui, you must be joking. I can’t just run away. I’m— I’m the sect leader of Lanling, I can’t—“

“A-Ling.”

Jin Ling holds his breath.

“Do you love me?”

The answer is immediate. “Yes.”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Sizhui smiles. “Then run away with me.”

Jin Ling’s hands tremble. “But.” He pauses to think for a moment. “But what about my duties?” He leans forward, desperate. “ _Surely_ you aren’t suggesting I leave everyone here without any further instructions? Without any order or— or any heirs?”

Sizhui only keeps his smile.

“What about the other sects?” He barrels on, begging. “What will Gusu Lan say when they find out their most promising head cultivator has run away with— with _me_?“

Sizhui’s eyes glimmer in the faint candle light. “Let them deal with it. None of that will be our problem anymore.”

Jin Ling gapes at him, eyes wide. He keeps starting and stopping sentences, trying to string his words together. But all he can think is _Sizhui, Sizhui, Sizhui_.

“You...” he looks down at the warm hand embracing his own, rubbing comforting circles on the side of his palm with a nice, pale thumb. “How can you _say that_?“

“Because I love you. I want you. Stay with me.”

“You want me to stay?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Sizhui laughs softly. He leans forward, bumping their foreheads together.

“Don’t be dense, A-Ling. You said it yourself.” His look turns soft, loving. “We’re happier together.”

Jin Ling cringes and backs away, hand still securely locked with this strange, familiar, _beautiful_ man in front of him. “But will other people be happy with us together?” He grips the hand that isn’t intertwined into a fist. “Will the people of my sect be happy without a stable sect leader? Will their political figures be able to fairly step up and serve them?”

Sizhui pauses then, and gives him a serious look. “A-Ling. I know these people mean so much to you, but do you know if you mean so much to them?”

“OF COURSE I DO!” Jin Ling explodes. “I’M THEIR SECT LEADER!” He comes to a stand, hand still painfully held by Sizhui. “I’m Jin Rulan, and I was born into this role by my father! I have to do it!”

Sizhui stands to match his height, gripping onto him strongly now. “No. You’re Jin Rulan, and you are a little boy who lost his parents and was forced to shove aside your pain.”

The response is so unpredictable Jin Ling’s vision turns blurry. His eyes sting. _His heart is hurting_.

“Let go of me,” he whispers.

Sizhui shuffles as close as he can with the table in his way. “You never share your pain, your loss, your misery.” He leans forward and wraps an arm around Jin Ling’s trembling shoulders. “Please, A-Ling. Let me help you. Let’s run away and get rid of all this needless—“

The door slides open, and a servant rushes in. “Sect Leader Jin!” She cries out, skidding to her knees before them, forehead knocking on the ground loudly. “Please, forgive this servant’s rude behavior. But there is a group of Lan disciples led by Hanguang Jun, and they ask for the return of their head disciple!”

Jin Ling freezes, his whole body going cold with it. His palms feel sweaty, and distantly he can hear his heart start to grow louder and louder with each breath.

“A-Ling,” Sizhui murmurs into his ear, still holding him tight. “I want you by my side.”

Jin Ling feels hot tears running down his face, burning him from the inside out. “N-no,” he whispers.

“I do.” Sizhui hugs him tighter, so tight he can hardly breathe. “ _Stay_ with me. Let’s get away from all these politics.”

Jin Ling opens his mouth to respond, but he can hear loud footsteps approach from down the hall, can hear the hurried calls of servants following shortly after. His heart is pounding loud and clear in his ears, drowning everything else out.

“Jin Rulan,” comes a whisper. “ _Run away with me. You will never know pain again_.“

* * *

As soon as Hanguang Jun races up the stairs, he can feel it. He’s already come to a full, astonished stop by the time a servant girl crashes out of one of Jin Ling’s private rooms, her face white as a sheet.

“HELP! HELP!” She cries out, near collapsing.

“SECT LEADER JIN HAS JUST DISAPPEARED WITH THE HEAD DISCIPLE OF GUSU LAN!”


End file.
